Building a Renewable Energy Network—Canadian and Northern Options

Abstract

The human energy network began with the shipment of coal from northern Europe to England during Roman times. It expanded during the Industrial Revolution as purpose built transportation began to deliver stored energy by railroad car and shipload to an expanding array of destinations. When oil came into use, both the extent and the depth of this network increased, and when electrical networks exploded across the globe, it became possible for the majority of the world’s population to flick a switch or put a plug in the wall in any room of their house and access power that might have been generated thousands of kilometers away, mere milliseconds before. The development of energy networks has been a huge transition for human society, and these networks will continue to transform to adapt to the replacement of fossil fuel source by renewable electric sources. Canada’s energy network will be more complex than those of most countries, due to its geographic span and variety of sources but mostly due to the very high levels of energy required per person and the very large amounts of seasonal storage that will be necessary.